"Thus it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

War on Terrorism

Thursday, September 20, 2012

ISAF Official: Campaign Remains on Track as Surge Winds Down

By Claudette Roulo and Army Sgt. 1st
Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – The International Security
Assistance Force’s campaign in Afghanistan is on track to achieve the
objectives and timeline NATO set forth at its November 2010 summit, and American
surge forces are on schedule to return home by Oct. 1, a senior ISAF official
said today.

“The surge has effectively covered and
enabled the training and fielding of the Afghan national security force, and is
an amazing outcome in and of itself,” Brig. Gen. Roger Noble of the Australian
army, deputy to ISAF’s operations chief, told Pentagon reporters via satellite
from Kabul, Afghanistan.

“The blood, sweat and tears of many
coalition soldiers, especially many brave Americans, has directly delivered the
time and space for the [Afghan forces] to stand up and assume the lead for the
security of Afghanistan,” he added.

Citing “relentless pressure on the
enemy” by Afghan and coalition forces, Noble said insurgents have been pushed
out of major population centers, allowing 76 percent of the Afghan population
to live in areas of relative calm.

“In these areas, Afghans have the lead
for their own security and their own lives,” he said. “And the future of
Afghanistan is, day by day, increasingly in Afghan hands, as it must be and
should be.”

While insider attacks are an ongoing
problem, he said, ISAF is conducting a detailed analysis of every shooter
involved to identify characteristics or traits that can be used to warn
coalition forces of potential risks. A major challenge is that most of the
shooters are either killed in the attacks or escape, the general acknowledged.

“But that doesn't stop you from still
digging into their background using multiple means and actually interviewing
the ones that we detain,” he said.

Insider attacks are a long-term tactic
used to erode trust, Noble said, and they increase during periods of heightened
tension, as they did in February following an incident in which coalition
forces inadvertently mishandled Korans.

“I've got a funny feeling that if they
could get into pickup trucks and drive into Kandahar, they would,” he said.
“But they can't do that. And the surge helped do that. There's now not just the
coalition standing in the way of them, but [the Afghan security force] has
about 350,000 who say, ‘You can't do that. You can't come back.’ And most of
the people of Afghanistan don't want them back, either.”

Insurgents cause 81 percent of the
civilian casualties in Afghanistan, the general said, through improvised
explosive devices, assassinations and suicide bombings. “If your only option is
to erode confidence and will through extremism and violence,” he said, “the
insider threat methodology fits right into that box of things to do. … They
don't have a lot of options other than to do that.”

Much work remains to be done, Noble
said, and the Afghans understand that and are working to improve their vetting
process and develop the infrastructure to support a professional army.

“It’s a problem that plagues them [as
well],” he said. “Most years, they’ve had far more attacks than we do.”

Noble also clarified recent changes to
ISAF's model for assisting Afghan forces. ISAF officials said in a written
statement yesterday that media reports on the subject were inaccurate.

“General Allen has not said that we're
never going to speak to an Afghan below kandak level again,” Noble said. “And
that is not what's happening.” A kandak is the Afghan army’s equivalent of a
battalion. Rather, he explained, Allen made adjustments due to the heightened
threat around the "Innocence of Muslims" YouTube video, which has sparked
protest and violence in the Muslim world.

“You would have to admit [it] has had an
impact globally, … and you'd be crazy not to heighten force protection,” he
said.

Allen is not preventing partnership
patrols below kandak level, Noble said, but simply is reinforcing a requirement
to take a considered decision about when, where and how that happens.

“We're going to take all the lessons out
of [the insider attacks] and check around the whole country to make sure that
there can't be a repeat, or [to] minimize the chance of repeat,” he said.

ISAF officials try to look “forward and
backwards in context,” he added, trying to keep day-to-day activity in
perspective and to remain on track for Afghanistan’s security forces to be
responsible for security throughout their country by the end 2014, the goal set
at NATO’s 2011 summit.

“Being in Afghanistan, every day throws
up a different challenge, and the enemy is nothing if not innovative and
committed,” Noble said. “So when we get hit with the insider threat problem or
any new tactics, we'll leave no stone unturned to try and keep our people safe.
We're not going to shy away from our commitment to be successful in the
campaign.”